Arizona Oral Surgery Services

Agave DentalAppointments: (602) 957-2411

Beth Hamann D.D.S.

Agave Dental

Dr. Beth Hamann, practicing in the Phoenix, AZ area, can provide you with the highest quality dental crowns available, and restore your smile. Using state-of-the-art materials and cutting-edge techniques, Dr. Hamann can make your smile look healthy and natural again.

A beautiful smile can brighten your life! If you are continuously hiding your chipped, stained, or cracked teeth from others, it's time for a change! Beth Hamann, D.D.S., a trusted Phoenix area dentist, can fix chips, cracks, and stains to reveal a great new smile - and a new you. You'll look so good you'll wonder why you waited so long!

Phoenix area cosmetic dentistry at Agave Dental can produce amazingly natural-looking results! You can have a bright, healthy new smile after just one or two sessions with Beth Hamann, D.D.S.. It's faster and more affordable than you may think.

Would you like your smile to be a bit brighter than it is right now? We can make it happen at Agave Dental, with professional tooth whitening for brighter natural looking teeth. Dr. Beth Hamann's Phoenix, AZ area office can effectively lighten your stained or discolored tooth enamel. Whiter teeth not only look great, they improve your self-confidence.

A negative self image can be detrimental to many facets of your life. Phoenix area dentist Dr. Beth Hamann understands the positive life-changing power that a healthy and beautiful smile can bring to you. Here at Agave Dental, we don't want you to be embarrassed any longer. Why not take your smile - and even your life - to a new level of self-confidence and beauty?

Request an Appointment With Agave Dental

Tempe Smile DesignAppointments: (480) 829-8200

Stacy Tracy D.D.S.

Tempe Smile Design

Would you like your smile to be a bit brighter than it is right now? We can make it happen at Tempe Smile Design, with professional tooth whitening for brighter natural looking teeth. Dr. Stacy Tracy's Tempe, AZ area office can effectively lighten your stained or discolored tooth enamel. Whiter teeth not only look great, they improve your self-confidence.

Tempe area cosmetic dentist Stacy Tracy, D.D.S. has extensive experience creating beautiful smiles. They're one of the first things people notice about you.

Our professional team will be happy to discuss your aesthetic dentistry options. The attractive results you'll get from Tempe Smile Design can change your life!

You're unique, and you deserve quality, individualized care. Dr. Stacy Tracy believes your dental experience should blend the best of the personal and the professional. At Tempe Smile Design in the Tempe, Arizona area, we take the time to get to know you and understand your dental needs. Dr. Tracy and her staff are dedicated to providing you with top-quality dental care designed exclusively for you.

At Tempe Smile Design, we accept several types of dental insurance. With the proper information, Dr. Tracy and his staff will be happy to file your insurance claim for you. We strive to make the insurance paperwork process as simple and streamlined as possible. You are only personally responsible for the co-pay or deductible amount.

If you want a gorgeous smile that turns heads, you may want to learn about the range of dental services offered at Tempe Smile Design. Tempe area cosmetic dentist Dr. Stacy Tracy is dedicated to producing quality results and beautiful smiles.

Wisdom Tooth Removal: What Is a Dry Socket?

After a wisdom tooth has been extracted, the socket is filled with a blood clot. Slowly, the clot shrinks and fills in. That is, a skin or a covering with tissue similar to the rest of the mouth (mucous membrane) begins to cover the clot and the tissue in the clot area is ingrown by bone cells and tissue cells. Eventually, the area shrinks and the socket is eliminated and replaced by firm tissue, and the depth of the socket fills with bone. The healed area usually is narrower than the site of the original wisdom tooth.

The pain following a wisdom tooth extraction usually lasts no more than a day or two, at the most. If the clot breaks down or is washed away, the protective covering of the exposed bone is lost and the bone can be exposed to the mouth bacteria. This painful condition is known as dry socket. One of the features of its presence is that wisdom tooth post-extraction pain persists longer than a couple of days and can be quite severe.

Though the causes are not known with certainty, some factors seem to predispose individuals towards a dry socket:

those who have had lower or mandibular extractions, particularly on posterior (back) teeth such as molars and pre-molars.

those who have wisdom teeth that are difficult to extract and necessitate bone removal.

those that are particularly difficult to numb and so need several cartridges of local anesthetic. Some local anesthetics contain epinephrine, which is used in preventing rapid dissipation of the anesthetic by constricting the blood vessels at the site. This perhaps may prevent good clot formation. People who smoke also are predisposed towards dry socket. Again, this may be because of the constricting effect of nicotine and tar products on the blood vessels.

Rinsing the mouth within a few hours of a wisdom tooth extraction may flush the clot out of the socket. Using a straw may have a similar effect. That is why post-operative instructions urge the patient not to smoke, rinse or use a straw for at least a day.

Unfortunately, there is no sure way of guaranteeing that a dry socket won't occur, but there is some evidence that placing a small piece (quarter of a square inch) of gel foam (a clotting agent) covered with tetracycline powder (an antibiotic) in the socket after the extraction can reduce the chance of a dry socket. This will be absorbed over a few days and has not been shown to induce allergies or have any other effect on the patient. Fortunately, dry socket is a relatively easy condition to treat.

by Myer Leonard, DDS, MD

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After oral surgery, it is important to follow all the instructions provided by your oral surgeon or wisdom tooth dentist.

Here are some guidelines to speed your recovery and healing.

The First Step After Oral Surgery: Proper Care for Bleeding

To limit bleeding after oral surgery, your wisdom tooth dentist or oral surgeon may place a gauze pack on the wisdom tooth extraction site.

This should be left in place for 30 to 45 minutes after leaving the office.

Bleeding might continue after the pack is removed.

If it does, follow these instructions:

Form a thick pad from clean gauze; dampen it and place the pad directly on the wisdom tooth extraction site.

Apply some pressure by firmly biting on it for about 30 minutes.

Replace the pad with a clean one if it becomes soaked with blood.

If heavy bleeding continues, call your wisdom tooth dentist.

Avoid sucking on the wisdom tooth extraction site.

Protect the Blood Clot

A blood clot should form in the wisdom tooth extraction site; this needs to be protected for proper healing. Healing is a delicate process and requires the restriction of certain activities; otherwise the blood clot can be dislodged.

Dental Care And Things You Must Avoid After Oral Surgery:

Sucking or blowing motions

Smoking

Drinking through a straw for 24 hours

Rinsing your mouth vigorously

Mouthwash (until your wisdom tooth dentist approves its use)

Cleaning teeth next to the extracted site for the rest of the day

Strenuous exercise for 24 hours

Hot liquids or alcoholic beverages

Reduce Swelling and Pain of Oral Surgery

Your oral surgeon or wisdom tooth dentist may give you a plastic ice pack to apply to your face on the way home. A cold compress helps reduce swelling. Apply either a cold compress or cold, moist cloth periodically. Switch to moist heat (a warm wash cloth) 24 hours after oral surgery. Check with your oral surgeon or wisdom tooth dentist regarding how often and how long to use a compress.

Proper Oral Care after Oral Surgery

Your mouth should be gently rinsed (not vigorously) with warm salt water the day after oral surgery. Add ½ teaspoon salt to one-cup warm water. Be sure to rinse after eating to keep food particles out of the extraction site.

Brush your teeth twice daily with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Brushing your tongue is also advised to eliminate bad breath and an unpleasant taste that often accompanies oral surgery. Floss at least once a day, too.